Fifth Place

"Begin announcing the rankings."

Instructor Li's voice fell.

The Training Ground instantly quieted down.

Firelight flickered, illuminating the red ranking list in his hands.

All eleven youths stared at that list.

Zhou Ye stood among the crowd, his face taut.

In the second round, the forest sprint, he had been the first to return.

Though he had not performed particularly well in the third round, he had always believed that he had widened the gap with his advantage in the first two rounds.

The fifth spot should have been his.

On the other side, Chen Mo was waiting as well.

After three rounds, he actually had a rough idea of his own standing.

Wang Lie was formidable.

Zhao Chuan had performed steadily.

Zhou Ye's speed was terrifyingly fast.

As for himself...

Chen Mo truly did not have much confidence.

He quietly pinched the corner of his clothes, unable to stop himself from muttering inwardly:

It would be great if I could get in.

Instructor Li unfolded the ranking list.

"This assessment was divided into three rounds."

"The top five will officially become apprentices of Clear River Martial Hall."

"The remaining candidates will be placed on the reserve list. Should the martial hall have vacancies in the future, they will fill them in order."

Upon hearing the words "reserve list," quite a few faces immediately brightened.

At least they still had a chance.

Instructor Li continued.

"First place, Wang Lie."

Low murmurs immediately rose from all around.

"Just as expected, it's him."

"With that strength, there's nothing to argue about."

Wang Lie stepped forward.

The instructor handed him a wooden token.

Wang Lie accepted it and returned to the crowd.

As he passed Chen Mo, he paused for a moment.

"You'll get in too."

Chen Mo froze.

"How do you know?"

"Look at the scores."

With that, Wang Lie returned to his place.

Chen Mo touched his nose.

That was certainly direct enough.

"Second place, Zhao Chuan."

Zhao Chuan went completely blank.

"Me?"

The next moment, his face bloomed into a grin.

"I knew it!"

He hurried up in a few steps to collect his wooden token. When he came back, he deliberately waved it in front of Chen Mo.

"See that?"

Chen Mo smiled.

"I see it."

"You're officially an apprentice now."

"Alright, congratulations."

"You have to get in too."

"I'll take that as a good omen."

"Third place, Zhou Zhan."

"Fourth place, Wu Jie."

The two names were announced one after another.

The atmosphere within the crowd grew increasingly tense.

Five spots.

Only the last one remained.

Everyone's gazes fell on Zhou Ye and Chen Mo at the same time, as though by unspoken agreement.

Zhou Ye's fingers were already clenched tight.

Chen Mo's heart began to pound as well.

He even wanted to turn his head away and not look at the ranking list in Instructor Li's hands.

Yet he simply could not resist.

Instructor Li lowered his head for a glance.

"Fifth place..."

The surroundings went completely silent.

"Chen Mo."

Chen Mo froze.

"Huh?"

Zhao Chuan gave his shoulder a hard slap from behind.

"You got in!"

Only then did Chen Mo react.

"Is it really me?"

"Of course it is!"

Zhao Chuan was grinning even more happily than he was.

Chen Mo hurried forward.

The instructor handed him a wooden token.

The token was not large, nor was it particularly heavy.

Yet the moment it landed in his hand, Chen Mo could not help but smile.

"Fifth place..."

He lowered his head and looked at it.

He had really gotten in.

Before, he could only stand outside the martial hall's walls and listen to the sounds of fists and kicks within.

Now, this wooden token had finally reached his hands.

Chen Mo turned around.

People in the crowd of onlookers had already begun discussing it.

"How did it end up being him?"

"I thought it would be Zhou Ye."

"He wasn't all that outstanding in the first two rounds either."

"He did fight quite steadily in the third round."

"Just lucky, that's all."

Hearing that final remark, the smile on Chen Mo's face faded somewhat.

Lucky?

He felt a little uncomfortable inside.

But before he could say anything, a voice sounded behind him.

"Instructor, I refuse to accept this."

Everyone's attention fell on Zhou Ye once more.

Zhou Ye stepped out.

He looked at Instructor Li.

"In the second round, the forest sprint, I was the first to return."

"Though I made mistakes in the third round, it wasn't like I did that badly."

"Why was it him in the end?"

After saying that, he looked at Chen Mo again.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't have gotten in."

"I just want to know exactly where I lost."

When those words came out, Chen Mo was instead somewhat surprised.

He had originally thought Zhou Ye was here to make trouble for him.

Now, it seemed he merely wanted an answer.

A provincial government inspector stepped forward.

"The assessment does not only consider who returned first."

"Every round has its own score."

"The combined total of all three rounds is the final result."

Zhou Ye gritted his teeth.

"I know."

"That's why I want to see the total scores."

The inspector said flatly:

"You are sixth."

"Chen Mo is fifth."

"The difference is only one point."

A wave of low exclamations immediately rose across the Training Ground.

Zhou Ye's expression changed.

"One point?"

"That's right."

The inspector looked at him.

"Your speed in the second round was the fastest, but your stamina expenditure was too great, so points were deducted."

"You also made many mistakes in your movements during the third round, so points were deducted there as well."

"Though Chen Mo was not fast in the first two rounds, his route judgment, stamina allocation, and completion of the punches and kicks in the third round were all good."

"That is why he scored one point higher than you."

Zhou Ye remained silent for a long time.

At last, he lowered his head.

"I understand."

He said nothing more.

He turned and walked back into the crowd.

Chen Mo watched his back without speaking either.

If it had been him, he probably would have been unconvinced too.

Zhao Chuan spoke softly beside him.

"Only one point apart."

Chen Mo could not help sighing.

"I didn't expect it myself."

Zhao Chuan grinned.

"Yesterday, you were still saying you were afraid you wouldn't get in."

"I really was afraid."

"Are you still afraid now?"

Chen Mo lowered his head to look at the wooden token in his hand.

His smile slowly returned.

"Not anymore."

People around them were still talking.

Some said he had gotten lucky.

Others thought he truly had been steady.

Chen Mo still felt a little unconvinced when he heard those words.

But after thinking it over, there was no need to argue.

The wooden token was already in his hand.

This time, he had truly made it in.

Instructor Li stepped forward.

"Tomorrow at dawn, the five official apprentices are to report to the hall on time."

"Reserve apprentices are to go home and await notification. You are not to enter the Blue Martial Arts Hall without permission."

The night deepened.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Zhao Chuan walked over to Chen Mo's side.

"Come on, let's go home."

The two left the Blue Martial Arts Hall side by side.

Zhao Chuan was still buzzing with excitement along the way.

"I got second place."

"I know."

"An official apprentice."

"I know."

"And I got a wooden token."

Chen Mo looked at the token in his hand.

"You've been waving it around the whole way."

Zhao Chuan chuckled.

"I'm happy."

After taking a few steps, he suddenly asked:

"Chen Mo, are you happy?"

Chen Mo froze for a moment.

Then he glanced at his own wooden token.

"I am."

"I thought you were going to act all calm."

"Why would I pretend?"

Chen Mo grinned.

"Fifth place is still a ranking."

Zhao Chuan immediately burst into laughter.

At the crossroads, they parted ways.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Chen Mo turned and headed home.

Qinghe Town was quiet beneath the night sky.

All the way home, he thought about entering the Blue Martial Arts Hall tomorrow.

An official apprentice.

From now on, he could train in boxing under an instructor and receive things from the Blue Martial Arts Hall.

At least this time, he had not lost.

When he reached the courtyard gate, the lights were still on inside.

Chen Mo pushed the door open.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back."

Chen Huan was the first to run out.

"Brother!"

At a glance, she spotted the wooden token in Chen Mo's hand.

"What's that?"

Chen Mo handed the token to her.

"See for yourself."

Chen Huan took it and turned it over several times.

"Clear River Martial Hall!"

Her eyes instantly lit up.

"Brother, you passed?"

"Yeah."

Chen Mo nodded.

"Fifth place."

"Really?"

"Really."

Chen Huan jumped up in excitement.

"Brother's going to be a disciple of the martial hall!"

Their father also came out from the house.

His gaze fell on the wooden token.

"Fifth place?"

Chen Mo nodded.

"Fifth."

A smile appeared on his father's face.

"Not bad."

He raised a hand and patted Chen Mo on the shoulder.

"Now that you're in, learn properly."

"Don't focus only on showing off your strength."

"Got it."

Their mother came out of the kitchen. The moment she saw the injuries on him, her brow furrowed.

"You got hurt again?"

"They're all minor injuries."

Chen Mo hurriedly explained.

"It's nothing serious."

Chen Huan cut in from the side.

"When Brother says he's fine, it usually means something's wrong."

Chen Mo glared at her.

"When did you learn to tear down your own brother's stage?"

The whole family laughed.

Dinner was quickly reheated.

There were no fine dishes on the table, but Chen Mo ate with particular relish today.

As he ate, he could not help glancing at the wooden token placed beside him.

After dinner, Chen Mo helped clear the dishes.

Before he returned to his room, Chen Huan chased after him again.

"Brother."

"Yeah?"

"Will you become really powerful someday?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"I'm still far from that."

"Then train hard."

"Got it."

Chen Huan nodded earnestly.

"When you become powerful, no one will dare bully our family anymore."

Chen Mo smiled and rubbed her head.

"Alright."

"Then your brother will work a little harder."

That night.

Chen Mo lay in bed, with the wooden token resting beside his pillow.

He looked at it for a long while before slowly closing his eyes.

Starting tomorrow.

He would be a true apprentice of Clear River Martial Hall.